Learning objectives

Classes will cover the central topics of development economics: the determinants of economic growth, technological progress and its implications for productivity, the distributive consequences of growth and human capital accumulation, inequality, and the effect of increasing openness to trade, regional integration and global imbalances, on these dimensions. Stylized economic models will be used to understand the functioning of the relevant markets (such as the labor market and the markets of goods and commodities) and to assess the role of public intervention on them (focusing on the role of education and health policies, redistribution and trade policies). Furthermore, the course will be strongly characterized by an “evidence-based” approach: data and public reports focusing on development issues (from the World Bank, IMF, OECD, for instance) will be critically assessed upon available scientific evidence. The main goal of the classes is to develop a scientific approach to the critical analysis of data and policies for development, which can be carried forward to analyzing and critically assessing the choices of single firms operating in developed and developing countries. Students seeking positions in firms and public institutes which are active on international markets will also: i) acquire competences that are needed to value the opportunities offered by countries and markets with which Italian firms are broadly interacting; ii) master the tools needed to analyze and critically assess the financial and economic scenario characterizing countries with different degrees of development; iii) be able to evaluate risks and opportunities offered by international markets in a global context. The classes will benefit from the active participation of international lecturers and experts from international organizations.

Prerequisites and basic notions

None

Program

INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

1. An overview of economic development in different countries.
2. Understanding and measuring drivers of development: An introduction to causal inference methods.
3. Economic growth and economic development.
4. Beyond GDP: Human capital, education and public health.
5. Human capital, endogenous growth, history, expectation and istitutions.
6. Inequality (global and local), poverty and development.
7. Migration: the dual model of development and the labor market.
8. Urban agglomerations and the "New Economic Geography".
9. Credit market, inequality and development.
10. Development and public policy I.


INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
11. International trade and development: facts and myths.
12. International trade, globalization, labor market and inequality.
13. Development and public policy II: Trade policies.

Additional material (reports, research articles), as well as a detailed list of the chapters of the book treated in the classroom, will be provided by the teacher during the semester.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

In-person lectures and students presentations

Learning assessment procedures

The exam is written and compulsory for all students. The exam lasts 90 minutes and consists of approximately 10 open questions covering the entire course program. The score of the questions varies according to their difficulty. In all cases, the student must demonstrate that they know how to use the tools learned during the course to motivate the answers given.
FOn a voluntary basis, students can also obtain an “assignment grade” which integrates the exam grade (without replacing it), based on two components:
1) A “group” component (min = 2, max = 3 people per group ), based on an “essay” that summarizes and comments on some working documents agreed with the teacher (for example, one or more chapters of the World Development Report). The essay is due on January 2023.
2) An “individual” component evaluated through participation in the course blog, in which each student is asked to elaborate on her class notes.

The “assignment grade” allows students to integrate the exam grade based on additional work to be completed during the semester. This possibility will be offered only for the 2023 winter exam session (two sessions).

Evaluation criteria

The exam grade captures the student’s ability in using the concepts and knowledge developed during the course as instruments to support and validate their answers. Answers to the exam question take the form of a short essay.
The “assignment grade” depends on the commitment that the student demonstrates during the semester in terms of:
- working on the additional readings list provided by the teacher.
- Understanding and contextualizing the readings, as well as criticizing them when needed.
- Exhibit academic writing skills.
- Developing and presenting to the class some of the topics covered in class.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The exam grade is based on a 31/30 scale. Each exam question receives a score that varies according to the level of difficulty of the question and the completeness, clarity and correctness of the answer provided. The exam grade is the sum of the scores obtained on all questions.

For students who wish to do so, there is an assignment grade rated on a 30/30 scale. The grade is composed as follows:
- Group component grade: 0-20
- Individual component grade: 0-10

The final grade of the exam is determined as follows:

Final grade = max {exam grade; 0.5 * exam grade + 0.5 * (group component grade + individual component grade)}.

- The exam passed if exam grade> = 17.5, regardless of the assignment grade.
- The maximum grade (30 cum laude) is obtained if final grade> 30.
- The possibility of benefiting from an assignment grade is limited to the first two exam sessions (winter session 2023).
- Those who decide not to use the assignment grade will get a final grade = exam grade.

Exam language

English